Tiger Woods and Sergio García move to reconcile differences on Merion practice course ahead of US Open

Sergio García has taken the first step towards patching up his fractious
relationship with Tiger Woods following the Spaniard's controversial
comments last month when he said he would serve the American "fried
chicken" at next year's Champions Dinner.

García's comments were made at the European Tour gala dinner in Wentworth just days after the pair traded insults following the world No 1's Players Championship triumph.

When asked by American compere Steve Sands how often he will invite Woods around for dinner at the US Open, which starts at Merion on Thursday, García replied: "We will have him around every night. We will serve fried chicken."

The Spaniard's comments were an echo of Fuzzy Zoeller's infamous comments at the 1997 Masters when he, too, made similar comments, saying he would serve Woods "fried chicken and collard greens or whatever else they serve" at the following year's Champions Dinner.

García's comments sparked outrage and followed a long-running feud between the pair that dates back to 1999 when a, then, 19-year-old García had the temerity to "glare" at Woods after he had sunk a birdie putt at the PGA Championship.

Numerous incidents followed, before García's comments at Wentworth threatened the image of the sport.

After saying the comments was not "meant in a racist manner", García later said he wanted to apologise to Woods "face-to-face", saying: "we talked to Mark Steinberg [Woods' agent] and he said they are moving forward.

"If I manage to speak to him, perfect; if not I will definitely see him at the US Open and we can talk face-to-face."

With the pair currently at Merion ahead of the US Open which starts on Thursday, it is understood García approached the world No 1 on the driving range where they shook hands.

Following the brief encounter, Woods, during a press conference, simply said that he was "not going there" when asked about the incident.